This comparative analysis reviews two articles, "Even for Cashiers, College Pays Off"" by David Leonhardt and "The Case against College,"" by Linda Lee. These articles serve to highlight the contrasting perspectives of the two authors on the value of a college education and ultimately reveal the true purpose of obtaining a higher education. While Leonhardt insists that everyone should be able to obtain a college degree, Lee contends that a college education should only be available to high achieving students. Some arguments maintain that higher education is the key to success. However, David Leonhardt states in his article "Even for Cashiers, College Pays Off"" that "Education helps people do higher-skilled work, get jobs with better-paying companies or open their own businesses"" (647). He also observes that .
"education seems to make people happier and healthier"" (646). Leonhardt argues that everyone should be able to obtain a college degree for a number of reasons. They are able to obtain greater benefits such as higher-skilled jobs in their area of work, and consequently, higher income. He believes that these benefits create a feeling of fulfillment, and generally make people happier. Although Leonhardt states that college tuition can be costly, he reminds us that the returns are far greater and that the burden of tuition is alleviated after financial aid is applied. He then emphasizes the value of a college degree by stating that students with a college degree earn 83% more than a student with a high school diploma (647). .
In her article entitled "The Case against College"" Linda Lee asserts that the people who belong in college are "the high-achieving student[s] who [are] interested in learning for learning's sake, those who intend to become school-teachers, and those young people who seem certain to go on to advanced degrees in law, medicine, architecture and the like" " (670).